MH17 criminal investigation

A group of relatives of MH17 victims gathered in front of the Russian embassy in The Hague on Sunday for a silent protest. "Stop playing games. Be a nation as proud and worthy as your people", the group wrote in a message to Russia. They accuse the country of hindering the investigation focussed on finding the truth, RTL Nieuws reports.

The relatives took a remembrance bench to the protest. A metal plate attached to the bench states in Russian: "Humanity over politics", according to the broadcaster.

Those responsible for downing flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, will stand trial in the Netherlands, the five countries most involved with the disaster decided on Tuesday night. The decision follows long consultation between the countries, the Volkskrant reports.

The team doing the criminal investigation into the downing of flight MH17 will start spreading videos in the Ukraine in an effort to convince witnesses to come forward. The videos consist of the relatives of MH17 victims talking about their loved ones, how they are missed and their sorrow, ANP reports.

According to the police, these videos' primary intent is to again draw attention to the investigation into the disaster. "As the years pass, people can still have important information", a police spokesperson said, according to the news wire.

The investigation into the MH17 disaster is in a difficult phase and far from over, the Public Prosecutor wrote in a digital magazine meant to keep the victims' relatives informed about what is happening in the MH17 file. The investigators are having trouble getting data from the Ukrainian secret service and cooperation with Russia remains difficult, the Prosecutor wrote on Monday, RTL Nieuws reports.

The investigation is now in its "most difficult phase", the Prosecutor wrote. "Booking progress at this stage is much more difficult."

The net is closing around the people responsible for the downing of flight MH17. Former Russian soldier Sergej Doebinski was identified on audio recordings as the person who arranged the transport of the BUK missile that shot down the Malaysia Airlines flight in eastern Ukraine, RTL Nieuws reports.

Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta spoke to the person who identified Doebinski. Doebinski is an old acquaintance of the man and he recognized his voice. At the time of the MH17 disaster, Doebinski was fighting with separatists against the Ukrainian army.

The Russian Public Prosecutor delivered a package of information relating to the downing of flight MH17 to the Dutch embassy in Moscow, Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice said during a parliamentary debate on the attack on the Malaysia Airlines plane, NU.nl reports.

Despite promising to do so, Russia still has not handed over radar images of the disaster with flight MH17, the Ministry of Security and Justice announced on Tuesday. The Russian Foreign Ministry promised the Dutch ambassador on October 3rd that the radar images will be transferred to the Joint Investigation Team

Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister, thinks it possible that the perpetrators behind the downing of flight MH17 can be identified and announced by the end of the year, she said to Australian television.

Russia summoned the Dutch ambassador in Moscow to a meeting on Monday to discuss the MH17 criminal investigation. The Russian Foreign Ministry wants to explain why the government does not accept the preliminary conclusions of the investigation

On Friday morning Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs summed the Russian ambassador in The Hague to discuss Russia's statements about the integrity of the MH17 investigation. Koenders told the ambassador that baseless criticism is unacceptable

People with information about the downing of MH17 who are afraid to come forward, may be able to count on witness protection, Prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said on Nieuwsuur on Wednesday. Should there be cause, witnesses could qualify for a new identity or lower sentences.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs and Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice are all impressed with the Joint Investigation Team and the investigation results they presented on Wednesday regarding the downing of flight MH17. All three agree that this is an important step towards prosecuting the perpetrators.

Relatives and friends of people who died in flight MH17 are generally satisfied with the investigation results the Joint Investigation Team revealed on Wednesday. The JIT revealed that flight MH17 was shot down by a BUK missile transported from Russia to a pro-Russian separatist controlled field and then back to Russia again.

A proposal by the VVD and PvdA to have a debate on the preliminary results of the MH17 criminal investigation received broad support from Dutch parliamentarians. The coalition partners feel it important to discuss the consequences, now that it has been clearly established that flight MH17 was shot down by a a BUK missile from Russia fired from a field controlled by pro-Russian separatists

Malaysia airlines flight MH17 was shot down with a BUK missile of the 9M38 series fired from the ground. The missile launching system came from Russia and was afterwards returned to Russia, are the preliminary conclusions of the Joint Investigation team. The missile was fired from a field near Pervommajsk, which was in the hands of pro-Russian separatists

Flight MH17 was shot down by a BUK-missile brought to the Ukraine from Russia, prosecutor Fred Westerbeke said during a meeting in which the victims' relatives are being informed on the preliminary criminal investigation results, both NOS and RTL Nieuws reports. The relatives are the first to here the results, which will then be shared at a press conference.

This afternoon the Public Prosecutor is presenting the first results of the criminal investigation into the downing of flight MH17 over Eastern Ukraine in July 2014. These results are expected to reveal what type of weapon shot down the plane and where it was fired from

A court forced the Ministry of Security and Justice to publish more documents on the disaster with flight MH17 thanks to a joint call on the Freedom of Information Act by broadcasters NOS and RTL Nieuws and the Volkskrant. A number of new details were revealed, including that the Dutch government assumed from the first that Russian separatists were behind the downing of the plane.

Relatives of MH17 victims asked the European Union for help in getting more information on the plane crash in eastern Ukraine in July 2014. They want the EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to put pressure on those involved to release, among other things, missing radar image